The World We Live In RE
by Opticz
Summary: "By a means at which no one has ever seen before, the world has finally fallen, the weak have fallen and the strong have risen in there place. I have risen, you have risen. And yet you, of all people, have the nerve to stand before me so you can what, try to stop me? Lee, there's no saving these people, let them go." REWRITE
1. Prologue

**The Walking Dead**

 ** _The World We Live In [RE]_**

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 **Prologue**

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Lee Everett swiped down on his cell phone and sighed loudly in aggravation. For the past ten minutes Lee had been trying to get updates on the news. Unfortunately, there was no luck to be found in his endeavors.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You know we never get a good signal in the back roads. Just..," Lee's brother, Bud Everett, trails off for a second as he licks his lips, "just wait until we get closer to the city."

Lee looked to his brother who was in the driver's seat of the vehicle. Bud, born second to Lee, was a near perfect replica of Lee. However, Bud took more of his mother's features than Lee did. Where Lee was able to keep a straight face much like his father, Bud's face would be compromised by his dimples and laugh lines. Lee could easily stare down someone and intimidate them with minimal effort if he really wanted to, however, because of Bud's soft eyes and smooth complexion no one would be slightly moved.

When Lee really thought about it, he noticed he had gained more from his father than he had his mother. Lee's father raised his boys to be tough, head-strong men whereas his mother's soft hearted nature taught them to be compassionate, open men. Of course, Lee wasn't without compassion, but he knew to not let anyone screw with him. That's why he always felt he had to be at Bud's side, to protect his baby brother. Bud would let people walk all over him, and he always put himself out on a limb to help whoever he could. He told Lee it was the right thing to do, Lee said that it was bullshit. To be treated in such a way for doing good to people was something Lee couldn't begin to fathom. Even now, customers at the Everett family pharmacy could chew out Bud for a minor error on his part and the man would take it with a smile on his face. Bud told him that those people might've been having a bad day and that he should just let things like that slide, Lee said that people should keep to themselves if they couldn't be civil.

Now, however, none of these characteristics showed. The only thing that was blatantly apparent to Lee was this: his little brother was afraid. From the way he paused in his last sentence, or the way he kept scratching his chin, even the way he tightly gripped the steering wheel - all these little cues were enough to show Lee that his brother was scared. Or, more appropriately, deeply concerned and anxious. Bud was concerned for their parents and anxious of the state the brothers would find them in, he had no idea where they were in all of the chaos that had just broken out.

Within the past two days the news of a horrible biological outbreak had been broadcasted nonstop. The people on the news described it as the dead walking again. Seemingly overnight the entirety of the United States was overwhelmed with the dead. From the news reports, Lee gathered that the recently deceased would come back within hours of death. The dead, or walkers, as the news channels deemed them, were incredibly dangerous.

Finding out this news while they were on their yearly camping trip almost seemed like a sick joke to the brothers, but they soon found out that it was no joke. Phone calls from friends, family members, and most important, their parents, was more than enough convincing that this was no joke.

Within ten minutes, the brothers had packed up their belongings and sped off into their hometown of Macon to find their parents. The plan was to check the pharmacy first as it was closest, then their old home. Lee had constantly been checking the news for the past two hours they'd been driving to see if there were any updates on the outbreak. Yet for the past hour he had been getting a strained connection until finally there was nothing. It could've been due to the area they were driving through that was notorious for having horrible reception, Lee doubted that though, his service provider had great connectivity despite the area. But to keep Bud's spirits up he opted to go with that explanation.

"Yeah, I guess you're probably right about that," Lee says locking his phone and placing it in the cup holder. He crosses his arms and slides down in the seat slightly before putting a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder, "It's going to be fine, man, and no matter what happens," Lee squeezed Bud's shoulder tightly, "I'm still right here with you."

Bud chuckles nervously, "What're you talking about, Lee? I'm all good, it's you that I should be worried about, you old dog." Sensing Lee's gaze, Bud sighs, "Alright, I know I'm not fine, but it's not like I'm scared. I'm just worried about them. That's all."

"I mean, Mom still hasn't called back since we started driving... she's just so punctual about that kind of stuff that it's hard to believe that she'd just not return our calls, especially now," Bud says, his voice became softer with each word and he softly bit his lip.

Lee crosses his arms as he formulated his reply, Bud beats him too it, though, "I just wish I was strong like you sometimes. You've always been so tough, even when your-" Bud stops himself, "I- sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up." Bud's chocolate brown eyes flicker back to Lee's and the road.

Lee frowns, "Even when my wife died?"

Lee's wife, Anna, died when their home burned down eight years ago. At the time of the incident she was pregnant with their first child, only weeks before the accident they found out that it would be a girl. Lee never talked about it after the funeral because he knew that if and when he did, he would break down completely. He never liked showing people that side of himself because he would rather be the person to rely on rather than being the person who had to rely on everyone else for stability. Of course he wasn't someone who believed that showing emotion was weak at all, he just couldn't bring himself to discuss that with anyone. Because of this, Lee knew that it was why his brother became so flustered mentioning it. Lee sighed.

"It's not like I'm not worried too, you know. I-" Lee starts, "You just want to be strong for me?" Bud finishes for him, "I know. It just seems like recently you've gotten a bit more distant. I wish you could find something, anything... I don't even know for what exactly. I just want to see you happy again."

Lee was taken aback for a moment then smiles softly, "I- uh, yeah. Thanks. I really appreciate that, Bud."

"Ah, well, you know me. The good ol' picker upper," the younger of the Everetts said with a smirk grow on his face.

Lee rolls his eyes, "Is that what they're calling you now?"

"Um, excuse me, but that's what they've always called me," Bud says and then clears his throat, "You know, aside from charming, dashing, handsome. And, of course, I'm just naming a few things here."

"Oh no, you're absolute right! I've heard those names before," Lee remarks snapping his fingers, "Except, they were always directed to me. I can't recall anytime you've been called those names."

Bud frowns, "That stings, Lee, that stings. But, you know, all those names you were called... Yeah, it doesn't really count if Mom was the only one calling you that."

Lee scoffs and crosses his arms, "Oh, ha ha... prick."

The cabin fell silent before the Everett boys erupted in a fit of laughter. It was as if the tension had been evaporated by their child-like jabs at each other. They were always able to pick each other up no matter what happened. Lee hoped things would never change, because it was like Bud said, the little brother truly was Lee's picker upper.


	2. The First Encounter Part One

**The Walking Dead**

 ** _The World We Live In [RE]_**

 **/\\\\.\|/./\**

 **Chapter One**

 **The First Encounter [Part One]**

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Lee grips the leather wheel tightly and curses under his breath as he realizes that the car the brothers occupy won't be taking them much further. The needle was becoming dangerously acquainted with the damning 'E' on the gas meter and there was no station in sight. Of all the things Lee could have expected to go wrong, this certainly wasn't one of them. Of course he knew the vehicle was getting close to empty, but there was no way he was going to stop at any of the stations back near Atlanta. The gas stations near the city were packed full of cars and at the rate cars were moving out it was clear to Lee that they would be there for hours. Not only were the stations packed, but the interstate heading out of the city was atrociously congested as well. Lee had heard once from a colleague that one would spend about twenty-four hours in Los Angeles traffic per year; from his point of view, though, the traffic in Atlanta in one day was putting LA traffic to shame.

Lee sighs as he pulls onto the side of the road at the mouth of the suburbs. He pinches his nose and shakes his head mentally kicking himself for believing that they would be able to make it to the station in Macon without having to worry about stopping. Lee knew Bud wouldn't be mad, but it wouldn't make him feel any better about the time it would take to get to their parents. For the past four hours, while Lee let Bud get some rest, Lee had been trying to get to Macon as quickly as possible. Though it appeared that it didn't matter how quickly he tried to get there as the brothers' fate was seemingly set in stone: they would definitely run out of gas. Cursing under his breath once more, Lee pulls over to the side of the road and cuts the engine, unbuckles his seat belt, and gently shakes his brother awake.

"Hey, Bud," he says gently, "wake up, man."

Bud, who had reclined the passenger's seat to nap comfortably, sits up groggily and dazed as if he hadn't slept in days, "We made it already?" he asks blinking through the wavering ray of sunlight that shone through the windshield, "Wait, what's wrong?"

Lee bites his lip, he already went over it with himself that Bud would take it well... but still, he didn't want to be the reason his brother would be so burdened with any more worry, "We uh- we're out of gas."

Bud adjusts the seat into its usual vertical position and stretches, "That's-," he yawns, "That's fine. I've been around here plenty of times - house calls, for prescriptions, you know? There's a gas station not too far away from here. We could probably get there and back with fuel before nightfall."

Lee was flushed with a sense of relief at Bud's calmness. He was glad that his brother was able to be so collected and clear headed in their current situation. Not like it was a dire one, but with their parents' status unknown Lee felt that any little bump in the road may bring Bud down more.

"Okay, that's perfect. Yeah, that's really good, the sun looks like it's gonna set soon so we should hurry up. I don't want to be out here at night with those things," Lee says before exiting the vehicle.

Lee pockets his keys and phone after stretching in the cool, autumn breeze. His entire body felt tense so going to this gas station was a great opportunity to stretch his legs and get some fresh air.

Bud, with his slender fingers wrapped around the jerry can that he insisted they wouldn't need for the trip, walks around to Lee's side, "It's so dead here, it's never like this," he observes grimly.

Bud wasn't wrong, compared to the neighborhood Lee lived in, this place was absolutely devoid of any signs of life. Every single house, which was built in the subdivision's uniform two story, red-brick style, had no lights on, no cars in the driveway, no dogs barking, no mothers yelling for their children to come inside - there was nothing. If it was any other day Lee would've seen it as coincidence or just a quiet group of people who all live in the same subdivision, but with the recent news reports being broadcast, Lee knew it was likely due to evacuation... or maybe-

"Hey, you okay, man? We should get moving, I'm definitely with you when you say that we shouldn't be here for nightfall," Bud places a hand on Lee's shoulder, his eyebrows are arched in concern and his eyes tear Lee from his grim thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, sorry. I was just looking this place over. It really is barren, you're not wrong about that," Lee says giving Bud a small, reassuring smile before gesturing for Bud to follow him.

The duo begins their walk through the eerie subdivision as the first streetlights click on, "So you think that maybe," Bud trails off and looks around at all of the abandoned homes.

Lee shakes his head, "I don't think so - at least, I hope not. I think it might just be a mandatory evacuation that took place."

Bud nods his head in agreement, "Yeah, you might be right. If things got as bad as the media said it was, what with the army about to step in, then I definitely don't doubt it."

Bud bites his lip softly before looking up to the taller of the two men, "I'm glad I have you, Lee."

Lee smirks, "You're just trying to butter me up so I hold the jerry can for you, aren't you?"

Bud shakes his head and shoots Lee a sharp look. "No, I'm being serious," he says softly, "I don't know what I'd do without you, or where I'd be. You were always with me ever since we were kids, even when things weren't going well on your end, you would still try to make sure I was okay. I wish I could say I never took that for granted, but I have. So I want to tell you now, thank you Lee, for everything you've done. And I'm sorry for never saying this before... for just letting everything you've done pass by like that."

Lee was immediately taken aback by Bud's words, yet, he couldn't repress the smile that took over his resting frown. The older of the Everett brothers always believed that he was doing right by his little brother but he was never sure that it was the best for Bud. The words that surfaced from within Bud's heart filled Lee with a great sense of happiness, knowing that he was able to be a good sibling for his brother.

Lee scratches the back of his neck, smile still plastered on his face, and says, "I don't want you to say sorry for something like that, Bud. I'm your brother, you never had to thank me for doing something a sibling should do. But," he looks his brother in his light-brown eyes, "I'm glad you did. I've always tried to do what I thought was best for you, but sometimes I really didn't know if I was just being too hard on you. I mean, I know I was hard on you, but it's because I care about you. You're my family, and you're the only brother I'll ever have, so I'll do everything I can for you for as long as I can."

Bud wraps his free left arm around his brother's shoulder warmly, "You already know that it's the same for me, I'll do whatever I have to for you."

Bud releases his brother and looks at his sneakers, he purses his lips and sucks his teeth, "You know," he looks the elder in the eye, "I think you would've been a pretty great dad."

Lee puts his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans and looks up at the orange-stained clouds that seemed to stretch out for miles in a single direction, "I don't know, I like to think that I would've. But, who knows, maybe when this blows over I'll get another chance," he says with a shrug and a glance in Bud's direction, "So, aside from all of that, how long do you think we've got to walk?"

Lee stared up at the orange and purple stained clouds that adorned the dying sky as Bud checked the street signs. Not once during their fifteen minute walk through the mid-sized subdivision did they spot anyone or any type of vehicle. It was painfully quiet for their whole walk, nothing in the environment dared to break the silence. The usual sound of crickets inviting the impending darkness had even ceased, there was no ambience whatsoever.

Finally, upon reaching the end of the subdivision's labyrinth, Bud's voice permeated the silence, "Okay, so we just go through the gates, cross the street, then cut through the woods real quick and we should end up at the back of the station," he says as they approach the black, iron gates which were, to Lee's surprise, closed, secured with several chain locks, and barricaded with various pieces of furniture.

Lee frowns, "What the hell is this?"

Everything from coffee tables, to wall-mounted cabinets were practically thrown against the iron gate which was secured tightly in place by at least four to five make-shift locks, two of which were tie wraps. "Jesus Christ, they tried that hard to keep those things out... but I thought they evacuated? Right, Lee?"

"Lee?" Bud calls again.

His voice, however, falls upon deaf ears. The elder of the brothers felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, it just didn't add up. There's no way the residents were keeping something out, they weren't even here. Or, if they were, they did a damn good job at hiding it. And also, why was the barricade on the opposite side of the fence? It made no sense to Lee. So there was no way the residents were keeping something out, no, they were keeping something in. It wouldn't work too well, though, Lee and Bud came from the rear where the subdivision lacked any form of iron fencing. But, it was also part of the backroads that not many people worried about, so maybe the residents might have taken that into consideration. Either way-

A dark blur passed Lee's vision several times, "Hey, Lee, still with me?" an irritated Bud asks.

Lee blinks rapidly for a second, the hairs on his forearms rose and a chill raced down his spine, he had no clue what he was really dealing with here. While he may not know what threat lay within the subdivision he knew for sure that he wasn't going to let he and his brother stick around to find out. "We've gotta go. Right now," Lee commands.

He takes the initiative to approach the brick wall, "Come on, I'll boost you up first."

Bud was still standing in place, he looked like he was ready to start unloading at Lee with several questions. Lee already had a good idea of what they would be, such as: 'Why?', or maybe, 'Are we not going to talk about this?'. Luckily Bud seemed to get the hint through the seriousness in Lee's eyes and stiff composure that he should just do as his older brother says.

Bud approaches Lee who lifts him to the top of the red-brick wall. Bud crouches down and reaches his arm down to Lee. Lee lifts the jerry can bud had left on the ground up to him, Bud grabs it and places it behind him on the wall, "Alright, just jump, I've got you," he says extending his hand out again. Lee, after taking a few steps back to get a running start, kicks up off the wall and grabs Bud's hand. With a painfully obvious reminder that he wasn't in as good of shape as he used to be, Lee struggles to the top of the wall with his brother.

Lee slides off to the other side first and catches the jerry can that Bud tosses down to him before his younger brother repeats his action. Lee takes a moment to briefly look around. The road, much like the roads in the subdivision, was empty aside from the multicolored leaves that carpeted the road. At this point, he wasn't surprised anymore, he just wanted out of this section of the county. He takes off in a quick stride across the street checking for traffic that wouldn't be there again before he realizes that he wasn't the one who knew where to go.

Bud catches up to Lee wordlessly and takes the lead. He manages to make it to the edge of the tree line before he says anything, "So, did you see them?" Bud asks quietly and without eye contact.

Lee furrows his brow, "What? Who? Did you see anyone?" he asks in concern while being oblivious to what Bud meant.

Bud frowns and turns to look at Lee, "No, I didn't see anything, that's why I'm asking you. What did you see? I mean, the look on your face... I figured there had to be a good reason you rushed us out of there."

Lee closed his eyes for a moment, his head had started to throb. "You alright?" Bud asks slowing his pace and putting an arm on Lee's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," he says rubbing his temples. Lee could tell by the look in his brother's eyes that he had but quelled only half of his brother's question. Bud's eyes practically begged, 'So? What else?'

Lee sighs, "I," he realized he couldn't exactly explain what he felt and paused for a moment to formulate a proper explanation, "I just had a really bad feeling about that place. I mean, think about it, they had that barricade, right? Well, why was it facing the outside of the subdivision rather than the inside, or why even have one at all? Those gates are supposed to swing open, so why chain it shut and prevent it from being opened?"

Bud opened his mouth slightly as he processed what Lee said and shook his head, "Shit, you're right, I get it. That would be stupid, though, why go through the trouble of locking things down like that, it would be impossible to get out quickly. It would only work if you were trying to... oh shit- if you were trying to-"

"Keep something in, yeah, that's what I thought," Lee finishes with a nod of affirmation.

"That's why we high tailed it out of there, huh?" Bud asks with a small smile, "I'm glad you caught on quickly, who knows what could've been in there," he pauses, "Well, we do know, but still."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess it wouldn't have been that bad seeing that the place was empty, but I had this feeling- like, you know how when we would do something bad as a kid and you'd get this horrible feeling in your gut that something bad was going to happen to you so you knew you had to get the hell away?" Lee asks reflecting to the times Bud and Lee would goof off and cause trouble when they were very young and then, inevitably, get caught and spanked. He smiled and chuckled unnoticeably at the memory.

Bud smiles widely with a nod, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Except it never really mattered anyway because our dumb asses would always get caught anyway."

Lee laughed, "True, but it never stopped us from trying."

Bud nods his head and sighs, "Yeah, we gave them hell for a while."

Lee frowned, there was that worry peeking through again. He shook his head, it would only be a temporary thing that would rest on Bud's mind. Once they found their parents they could put those feeling at ease.

They didn't have too long to spend walking and weaving their way through the thin forest's vegetation and uneven ground. The two men reached the end of the tree line and, as Bud had said, were facing the back of a gray one-story building. Lee raises his eyebrows, he was impressed, his brother was able to lead them exactly where they needed to be without a hitch through the darkness and unfamiliar forest territory. He pats his brother on the back, "We should hurry, at this rate we'll be going back to the car at night," Lee says. It was already becoming harder to see with the dying light, it was also an issue that the streetlights were on the front side of the station and not in the back where they were. Lee gestures for Bud to follow him and walks closer to the gas station.

It was only when they were about to round the corner to walk to get to the front that Lee heard it. It was a low pitched, strained breathing-like sound. It reminded Lee of his Uncle Andy who was an asthmatic, when his Uncle's asthma would act up he would have trouble breathing. Except, this wasn't really breathing, it was like a growl. Lee motioned for his brother to stay still behind him as Lee peeked around the corner.

Slowly, silently, Lee peeks around the corner. It was a man.

He was just standing there... growling? What the hell?

The streetlight in front of the gas station illuminated the front of the man, the side he couldn't see. Lee could only see a darkened back side. It appeared that his hair was disheveled, several strands stuck out all over the place and his shirt seemed to have dark splatters on the back from a dark liquid Lee couldn't identify. The man was hunch-backed and his arms dangled uselessly at his sides. Again, Lee heard the growl. It was low and grating to the ears. Above all, it wasn't human, it didn't make sense, and it sent a cold, icy chill down to Lee's very core.

The man's head rolled back and he heard a whine escape from his vocal chords before he took a single, staggering step forward. It was like the action caused his whole body to shake, it was-

The sound of aluminum skidding across concrete caused Lee to jump and look backwards. Bud, in his crouched position, had lost his balance, knocked a coke can out of the way and fell against the back door with a wholesome thud. He gets up and mouths a sorry.

Lee, after calming his heart, peeked around the corner to see that the man- no, that thing - had turned its head around. Its face was shrouded in shadows but Lee could clearly see one thing.

 _It had no eyes._

Every hair on Lee's body rose at once. His heart accelerated and his breathing had become sharp. Never in his life had he seen something like that. And it was... it looked like a dog, nose in the air- just- just smelling the air.

 _What the fuck?_

It took two steps in Lee's direction. Two labored, heavy, steps. Lee couldn't move.

Behind it a dark shroud moved down the street, and it was moving. Could it be? Were there more? It was hard to see and he wouldn't dare move an inch forward to get a better look.

They were right.

He knew they were right, but to see it in person. It was a sight that would never leave him. He closed his eyes tightly and willed himself to get a grip.

Just take a breath and-

Halfway through his mental coaching he heard a metallic screech, a muffled cry and scraping. He whipped his head around only to find that his brother was gone.

 **AN:**

 **Hello everyone! I want to thank all of you for taking to time to read up to this point, I very much appreciate it. If you'd like, feel free to take a look at the original version of this story. I must admit, I'm not to proud of it like I was back then, so I'm determined to do well with this iteration. The next chapter should be ready to release in a week or so. That should be the average amount of time in between chapters. I wish I could have a schedule that's set in stone but unfortunately I'm pretty busy and since this can't take the place of my job, I'll have to work on it in the spare time I have. I hope you all understand and I hope you'll all stick around for the ride :)  
**

 **Anyhow, let me know what you liked/disliked, what I should keep doing, what I should improve on, anything. All questions, concerns, critiques are welcome.**


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